Kuroko no Hope and Despair
by Happy Camper27
Summary: Instead of joining the basketball club at Seirin, Kuroko stays away from basketball, the pain of the GoM's betrayal still to raw. In doing so, he receives a letter from the top school in Tokyo—Hope's Peak Academy. Threeshot. Completed.
1. Chapter 1

**Universe: Kuroko no Basuke/Kuroko's Basketball and Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc/Dangan Ronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei**

**Summary: Instead of joining the basketball club at Seirin, Kuroko stays away from basketball, the pain of the GoM's betrayal still to raw. In doing so, he receives a letter from the top school in Tokyo—Hope's Peak Academy. **

**Warnings: Craziness, gore (not hardcore, but this is Dangan Ronpa. What do you expect?), AU on both sides, manipulation, dark themes, murder, general insanity, etc.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or Dangan Ronpa. **

_Kuroko no Hope and Despair_

It is after their third national championship title that everything finally crumbles for Kuroko.

For the first time he can remember, he hates basketball. Hates hates _hates_ it, and everything linked to it. So he turns his back on it. On basketball, on Teikou and everything it stood for, on _them_.

He decides to go to a small school, hoping to simply fade out of sight and be forgotten by _them_ and every_thing_ and every_one_.

He fails.

It is not long into his second month at Seirin that he receives a letter in the post from one 'Kirigiri Jin'. When he opens it, reads it…

…well, it's a whole new world.

(Even if he does try to run, at first.)

(They catch him anyway.)

…

He approaches the gates of his new school, dressed in the black blazer, white button-up, red tie, and black pants of his new uniform. The main school hall veritably towers above the rest of the city surrounding it, making an imposing figure.

He looks down, suddenly unsure. There was no backing out now; the ones who had chased him down when he had tried to run had made that very clear. But could he do it? Could he completely turn away from _them?_ For even as he had turned his back on _them_, there had still been a tiny portion of him that cried out for him to try and save _them_.

Could he really abandon _them_ to their fates like _they_ had abandoned him?

Could he give up on _them_?

He closes his eyes as he reaches his conclusion. He could leave _them_ behind. After all, it wasn't really running away if _they_ had been running ever further away since the beginning, was it?

(It feels oddly freeing to walk through the gates of Hope's Peak.)

(Like the weight of the world is suddenly off his shoulders.)

…

It is when he is introduced to his class that he first meets _her_. He is the Super High School Level Phantom, a member of Class 78. The former Phantom Sixth Man of the Generation of Miracles.

And for a moment…_she_ shown brighter than even Aomine had ever managed.

It isn't until he decides to dorm at the school (his parents were always away on business, making their fortunes—forgetting he even existed, so why return to an empty apartment? He certainly sees no point) that he has his first personal encounter with _her_.

He walks away with _her_ name ringing in his mind.

(_Enoshima Junko_.)

(When he looks back, many years in the future, he realizes that that moment, that meeting…was the beginning of the end.)

…

He finds himself slowly relaxing in Hope's Peak. There isn't the same pressure as there was in Teikou—no motto of 'A hundred battles, a hundred victories'. He fits in, as most of his classmates and peers are oddballs with peculiar habits and eccentric personalities and most if not all of them are _broken_.

_Fractured_.

It is a humbling realization, and a freeing one. For once, he doesn't have to conceal his emotions for others, for the victory of the team. He doesn't have to hide the fractures in his psyche. He can just…_be_.

And finally…he can let go of the numbness that has plagued him for so long and _feel_.

It's a novel experience.

(Hope's Peak is a new start—fresh and uncontaminated by memories of Teikou.)

(He quite likes that.)

…

It is near the end of the year that he has his first, extended encounter with a prep-course student. It leaves him stunned at the fury and jealousy of those who are not selected to be part of the main course.

"Who are you to look down on us, you s***h**d?!" the student demands of him, clearly seeing his naturally blank face as somehow condescending. "You main course students are all the same—arrogant and self-entitled! Like you're the f*****g best in the f*****g world! You should all go jump off a cliff!"

Kuroko freezes at this, horror and uncertainty ripping through him. Has he really grown so arrogant, like this prep school student says? Has he become like _them_, so full of himself that he is blind to others? To their jealousy and their emotions?

Has he become a monster like _they_ did?

It's then that a familiar body steps in. "Jump off a cliff? I'd, like, rather not. And besides, aren't you the one who's arrogant, trying to prove you're, like, better than a main course student when the faculty, like, placed you where you're suited to be?" the sharp tones of Enoshima-san's voice pierce the air. "If anyone should be jumping off a cliff…" she looked up at him with icy blue eyes, and the prep school took a step back. "It's you."

The tension is almost tangible. Finally, the prep school student finally turns tail and runs, leaving Enoshima-san huffing in his wake.

"Really, idiots like that make me, like, _so_ irritated." She scoffs, turning to look at Kuroko. "He was lying, you know." She states easily, making Kuroko look up at her with wide eyes.

"You aren't arrogant. You're simply talented—and they're jealous of that."

Her hug is entirely unexpected and very needed. Kuroko can't even remember the last time he was hugged; he quickly melts into the encompassing warmth of her arms, going limp. She giggles, placing her head on top of his.

(He doesn't see her wild, insane grin.)

(Later, when he's too deep and too far gone to care, he does see it. It's the most glorious thing he's ever seen.)

…

It isn't until the middle of his second year that he finally meets one of _them_ again.

They (Class 78) are out on a class-wide shopping trip/outing/fun day that they had been planning on for a month when he bumps into Midorima. The greenet is clearly searching for his lucky item of the day when he quite literally bumps into Kuroko.

Kuroko is just reaching for the last bunny plush doll (which he plans on giving Enoshima for a Christmas [the model having expressed an interest in the Western version of the winter holiday]) when a long fingered hand deftly snatches the doll before he can reach it. He looks around, feeling rather irritated, and realizes that the one who has snatched the doll is none other than his green haired former teammate.

Their eyes meet.

Midorima takes a second to realize what he's seeing before letting out a sharp cry and jolting back. "Ku-Kuroko?!"

"It has been a long time, Midorima-kun." Kuroko greets him, feeling his mouth sour at the use of the familiar honorific in relation to his former teammate. He can feel the hatehate_hate_ and bitterness that wells up in him as he looks at Midorima, feel the betrayal and fury and hurt that he had formerly attempted to suppress.

But now he has too much practice at being more open, at letting others see how he feels. And why not? It is not like he has anything to hide from his current peers. His emotions must be showing on his face, for Midorima looks at him with an almost tentative expression before speaking.

"What are you doing here?"

Kuroko feels his guts twist, desperately not wanting to answer, but unfortunately having to. "We are out shopping for the day," he answers, making Midorima's eye twitch behind his glasses.

"We?"

"My classmates and I."

Before either of them can say anymore, a black haired boy with silvery gray eyes interrupts them, throwing his arm over Midorima's shoulder.

"Hey, Shin-chan!" he chirps brightly. "Who's this?" Midorima shoves the boy's arm off his shoulder snapping at him.

"Takao!" he doesn't sound quite angry; more fondly irritated, in so much that Midorima is capable of such.

"Aw, Shin-chan!" Takao whines, laughing cheerfully as he tries to wrap his arm around Midorima's shoulders again. In the midst of their argument, they seem to have forgotten Kuroko standing there. He starts to move away before Midorima catches his arm sharply.

"Kuroko," he says abruptly serious and worried, "where did you go? We couldn't find you—did you forget our promise? Even Akashi couldn't—"

Thankfully, he is cut off by the arrival of one of Kuroko's classmates, Kuwata Leon.

"Hey, Kuroko!" he cheers, ruffling Kuroko's hair (much to his annoyance). "What do ya think?" he holds up a pair of sparkly earrings. "Do ya think she'll like 'em?"

Kuroko barely refrains from rolling his eyes. 'She' is Kuwata's current girlfriend who attends one of the other schools in Tokyo, one of his many flings that he enjoys. "I think Kuwata-kun is a hopeless womanizer," he states bluntly, making Kuwata laugh awkwardly.

"H-hey, K-Kuroko—" he begins, but Kuroko cuts him off.

"But I think that Hitori-san will like them." Kuwata chuckles, patting Kuroko's back.

"Thanks, man!" Kuwata looks at Midorima and his companion, Takao-san, with a quick, assessing eye. "Who're these?"

Midorima opens his mouth, but Takao cuts him off before he can say anything. "Hey, you're Kuwata Leon-san, right?" when Kuwata nods, Takao-san _beams_. "Can I get an autograph? I absolutely _love_ your newest album!" he begs the Super High School Level Baseball Star turned Super High School Level Musician. Kuwata rubs the back of his head self deprecatingly as he agrees, signing a CD copy of the album that Takao-san happens to have with him.

After that, Kuwata sweeps Kuroko off with him, cheerfully (if somewhat arrogantly) dragging Kuroko along with him to accompany him, leaving Midorima and Takao behind them.

As he is surrounded by his classmates, all a little broken, all a little odd, all a little _off_, he can feel the bitterness and betrayal and hatehate_hate_ that had filled him when he encountered one of _them_ fading.

Maybe he had run away. Run away from his problems, from his fractured and crumbling friendships, from Teikou, from his memories…but he had found _this_.

For the first time since that third championship title, Kuroko finally feels as though he has found his place in the world.

(It's a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest, and it almost makes him stumble with the sudden feeling of _belonging_.)

(It is the end of the beginning of the end, moving from the Prologue to the First Act.)

…

It is the middle of their second year when everything begins to fall apart. Hope's Peak Academy has their dirty laundry aired—human experimentation and nonconsensual to boot—and decides to close by the end of the year, issuing a letter to the press and the students. They don't accept any more students. Classes 77 and 78 are the last classes of Hope's Peak.

Then the whole of the prep course commits suicide. All of them—except one; the one who was the result of the forceful, nonconsensual human experimentation. Hinata Hajime of Class 77…or, as they called him when they were done with their experiments…Kamukura Izuru. The Ultimate Hope of Humanity.

(Everything is crumbling again and Kuroko can't help but let himself fall into helpless despair; the place he started to call home, destroyed, decommissioned…)

(He looks back, and finds it hopelessly ironic that 'The Ultimate Hope of Humanity' became one of hope's worst enemies—a Remnant of Despair.)

…

Then they are fighting back, in a way that Enoshima and Ikusaba are pushing them to do; a wave of despair begins to crash over the world and they are the cause. Enoshima leads them, pulling them along into a spiral of insanity and murder and feverish devotion. It's intoxicating and addicting and all he can think of.

His hatehate_hate_ of _them_ is no longer directed to just five people—_them_ becomes the whole world, the rest of humanity who has wronged him, has wronged _them all_.

He hatehate_hates_ the whole world, and is completely intoxicated with the pure euphoria of insanity.

(He has been taken too deep, too _far_, to come back, not without drastic measures.)

(Then _she_ changes, and everything—everything they had worked for, the victory of beginning to overwhelm the world with their insanity and despair—crumbles to ash in his mouth.)

…

He wakes up.

His last memory is of his first day at Hope's Peak.

And he is trapped, in a game of mutual killing.

(As he recovers his memory, later, he wishes that he had never forgotten. But at the same time…he wishes that he never remembered.)

(It's the end of the First Act, and the beginning of the Second.)

…

Aomine had changed. They had all changed, really. The Generation of Miracles had been dragged from their thrones at the top of the world kicking and screaming by a tiny, unknown team from a no-name school.

Losing had changed them.

And it was only then that they realized what they had lost. The final member of their sextet…they hadn't seen him since that fateful final match. It is a wrenching gap in their dynamic, in their friendship, in their goddamn _hearts_.

Aomine's in his third year of high school, still on the basketball team, still as wild as ever, but calmer, more tempered by time and experience and _losing_, when the first video comes out.

It airs across the world, and cops lay siege to the shell of Hope's Peak Academy.

Aomine doesn't care. Then he sees the video, sees the people trapped in there. He almost has a heart attack.

_Tetsu_ is one of those trapped in there. _Tetsu_ is a member of the final class of Hope's Peak. _Tetsu_ is caught up in the middle of a dangerous, deranged game of murder and execution, and in more danger than Aomine had ever thought possible.

(The rest of the Generation of Miracles is the same.)

(They had never realized what they had until it was lost to them.)

…

They stand in front of the door. The huge, iron door that has sealed them in this hellish prison, their own _personal_ hell. Naegi holds the switch in his hands, and they stand seven abreast.

Naegi.

Kirigiri.

Togami.

Fukawa.

Asahina.

Hagakure.

And Kuroko.

Naegi glances around at them, unsure at what they would find. Was the world outside truly a wasteland, destroyed by Enoshima?

Kuroko cannot blame him; if it is true…then are they right in wanting to leave? Even after the deaths, after Maizono and Kuwata and Fujisaki and Oowada and Ishimaru and Yamada and Celes and Oogami and Alter Ego and Ikusaba…can they still do what they have worked so hard towards?

Yes.

Naegi nods, and presses the button. The red light turn as the sirens flare loudly. The mechanisms keeping the door tightly shut whirr. And the door…

…opens.

(It's a whole new world to them now. A new start. And they'll keep going. In memory of all those who died in their attempts to escape. For them.)

(And then the _hatehatehate_ that had festered in his heart…is abruptly reduced—not gone, oh no, _never_ gone, but _less_, in some way. Like honoring their dead classmates' memory is the cure to his pain and anger.)

(It's their new start, and they're not going to waste it. It's their Epilogue…and their Prologue.)

**/End.\**

**So…Yeah. This was partially inspired by ****pale rose fire****'s 'Kuroko no Free' oneshot. Now I'm going to go brood in a corner about my angsty muse.**

**Also, the next chapter of Emerald Musician **_**should**_** be up over the weekend, along with the first interlude. I make no promises.**

**R&R, please!**

**~Happy Camper27**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own KnB (Kuroko no Basuke) nor to I own DR: KnGtZnK (Dangan Ronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei).**

**Warnings: Foul language, nightmares, possible/implied PTSD symptoms, and physical violence.**

_**Kuroko no Hope and Despair: Part 2**_

Kuroko's first thought upon seeing the outside world? '_Wow_'. His second?

'_Enoshima lied_._ Huh.'_

The sky is a bright, bright sapphire blue above him, and the air is crisp and fresh with the sharp, bitter smell of car exhaust floating by and the grass is so brightly green that it makes his heart _ache_. She had lied. _Liedliedlied_, and now they're free and under the sky and he feels like he could just fly away any moment because they're _free_ and the world is still _alive_ and not destroyed and just—he's _free_. Japanese is completely inadequate to describe the sudden lightness that he feels, and he doesn't think that any other language could even approach it either.

He's _free._ Freefree_free_, and he's never—_never_—going to be trapped like that again. _Ever_.

(And then the adults come.)

(And he learns that adults just want to shackle him again in chains of youth and responsibility and education and justice—)

…

The next few days are overwhelming—everyone is speaking and questioning and pushingpushing_pushing_ them. Kuroko could deal with that; it's not like they can find—_see_—him anyway, and he has the others too.

Then he finds out that the adults want to separate them, want Asahina and Hagakure and Fukawa and Naegi and him to go back to their parents, back to their 'homes', which is absolute _crap_, because they went through that horrible, horrible 'game' together and now the adults want him to leave the only support system he has left.

It's only when Kirigiri—who is the daughter of the headmaster _before_ Monobear, _Kirigiri Jin_, and God, she's an orphan now, has been for what seems like forever—puts her foot down and says in that cold, calculated way of hers that says '_I-don't-have-time-for-you-idiots-so-shut-up-and-listen-to-my-goddamn-genius_' that they are _staying together_, _screw_ whatever the adults want.

And then Togami follows it up with his condescending '_you-absolute-pieces-of-dirt-are-so-far-beneath-me-that-you-are-below-the-dirt-under-my-feet'_ tone and states that if they keep pushing it, the Togami Corporation would see to it that they would loose their jobs.

Not in so many words, of course, because Togami is too much of a jerk to say it directly, but the threat is there and the adults back off, murmuring about 'parents' and 'children' and 'protection'.

Since when did they need protection? They had gone through that nightmarish _hell_ without any protection but their own wits and their words, no adults in sight.

It is him against the world again, Kuroko realizes, just the world is a whole lot bigger now and he isn't alone—he has six people at his back, ready to help him and support him and he's ready to do the same for them. It's them against the world, really, and the fight's only just beginning.

(But that's alright; he's got the others.)

(Except, he has to wonder—will they abandon him like _they_ did?)

…

The nightmares are something they all share. It's horrible, and it seems that it's Kuroko's turn tonight, because all he can think of is the suffocating walls of Hope's Peak closing in around him, and crazed laughing of Enoshima entwined with the steady, measured pounding of the trash disposal.

He wakes up with a jolt, covered in sweat and shaking so badly he can barely think because _ohgodohgodohgod_ _nononononononono_—

—and then Naegi's arms are around his shoulders, quietly whispering into his ear a litany of _it'salright-we'resafe-she'sgone-we'resafe-you'refine-nodanger_, and Kuroko feels almost mortified as he feels wetness on his face, and realizes that he's crying, crying and sobbing and begging _nonononono_ in his panic.

But Naegi's warm, and his warm arms feel safe and kind and warm and _safesafesafe_ and slowly (_oh-so-slowly)_ Kuroko begins to calm down and he can feel himself go limp in Naegi's warm arms—he's _safe_—and thinks to himself vaguely as he drifts away into sleep that Naegi must be uncomfortable with how Kuroko's practically laying on top of him as a deadweight.

(Even now, Enoshima haunts them from the grave, and he's so, so _scared_.)

(But she's dead, and that is a small measure of comfort.)

…

Aomine is frozen, staring at the door in front of him. He's come here to try and see Kuroko, to try and apologize, but now he just…can't move.

It's pathetic, and he hates himself for this cowardice, because he is so very tempted to turn away and run away and never face this, but he _knows_ that he needs to do this.

He won't be able to live with himself, otherwise.

He knocks on the door, and there's an abrupt silence in the soft, murmured conversation behind the door. Then there are footsteps and the door opens with a creak.

He swallows as he sees the person who opened it—a girl in a red sports jacket with a hella-good-rack _(but that's not what he came for; mind out of the gutter you idiot)_—and looks around the room, searching for that familiar head of blue hair, and realizes with a jolt that he can't see it. Is he not there? Is Kuroko not here?

And then he hears the quiet, faintly accusing voice that is _sososo familiar_, and his eyes are drawn to the suddenly appearing figure that he knows far too well even though it's been three—_three long, long_—years since he saw him.

"Aomine-kun?"

(It's painful to see the pain and anger in his once-friend's eyes.)

(He hates himself even more when he sees just how the others group around Kuroko as though to protect him.)

…

Kuroko can feel bile rising in he back of his throat at the sight of his former teammate, and can feel himself tensing with horrible, horrible hatehate_hate_ that makes his heart clench and his mouth taste like ash and charcoal.

The other bluenet clears his throat, staring at Kuroko with trepidation, and Kuroko realizes that he looks different—older, taller, less arrogant, somehow. Then he speaks, and Kuroko wants to jab him in the ribs at what he says.

"Hey, Tetsu."

(How _dare_ he?)

(Aomine's an asshole, just like before; did he think that after all _they_ did, that after all _he_ did, that he could just waltz back into his life with a "Hey, Tetsu"?!)

…

Aomine instantly realizes he's said the wrong thing. He wanted to hit himself, take it back, because—"Hey, Tetsu". Was that seriously the only thing he could say? Maybe he really was a basketball idiot like Satsuki and that coach from Seirin (_Aido? Aide? Something like that)_ were always telling him he was. Nevertheless, it was too late to take it back, so he took a deep breath and pushed on, hoping that he wasn't just digging his grave deeper.

"Look, I know it's been a while, and what we did—_God_, we were such _idiots_—it's unforgivable, and I—I…I just—" he's babbling, and trying to get his point across and he wishes that he had a basketball in his hands because he's _so much better_ at communicating through his favorite sport.

"I'm sorry!" he bows at the waist, shoving aside his ego and pride, because Tetsu—no, _Kuroko_, he doesn't deserve to call him _Tetsu_ anymore—deserves an apology, deserves to know that he's _sorry_ and he just wants to tell him that he wishes that he could go back and shake him younger self and scream at him and say "you idiot, what the f*ck do you think you're doing?! You're giving up the best damn thing in your f*ck*ng life you goddamn nimrod!" but he can't so he just has to apologize and hope that Te—_Kuroko_ can find it in his heart to hear him out, to let him apologize the way that he f*ck*ng deserves because they were such _idiots_.

(There's an absolute silence.)

(And Aomine dares to hope, just _hope_ that maybe Tet—_Kuroko_ will hear him out.)

…

Kuroko can feel himself shaking, and all he can think of is 'it's not enough', and it makes him feel like a horrible, selfish person because here's the person who had been one of his only friends (one of his _best_ friends) and he's apologizing for what he did and trying to make it better and all he can think is '_it's not enough_'.

And then he standing, moving over to Aomine before he realizes it and Aomine doesn't look up, staring at the floor, waiting for Kuroko to do something. It's abundantly clear that he'll take anything Kuroko gives him, whether it's a hug or a knife in the back, and Kuroko feels vaguely guilty for what he's going to do next.

He tilts Aomine's chin up so that he's looking him right in the face before punching him in the face. Hard.

Aomine's head is slammed to the side, and he close his eyes and says simply, "I deserved that", but all it does is make Kuroko angrier. He lashes out, jabbing Aomine in the side, his fingers landing painfully between the ribs. Aomine flinches, hand going to hold his side where a bruise is undoubtedly forming, but Kuroko is already moving again, this time kicking Aomine between his legs.

Aomine doubles over with a cry, hands going between his legs and Kuroko knocks his feet out from under him and he lands on all fours. Aomine's wheezing, shaking, but Kuroko only feels vindicated as he lands his last attack, stomping on Aomine's back so that he collapses and the air is knocked out of him as he slumps.

Aomine begins to struggle to his feet after a moment, pushing himself up and Kuroko lashes out one last time as Aomine begins to speak.

"Okay, I deser—"

He kicks him in the chest, and a vicious satisfaction blooms in his chest and Aomine falls back on the floor and curls up with a gasp.

He turns away and then Asahina is wrapping him in a hug, chattering away in his ear about how cool that was and _did he learn that from Sakura-chan_ and Kuroko feels her arms tighten around him and he can just _tell_ that Asahina is glaring horribly at Aomine. Naegi is staring at him with wide eyes before he shakes his head bit, smiling warmly at Kuroko.

Aomine pushes himself up with a groan after a moment, and looks up and Kuroko only to be met with Asahina's venomous glare, and he shrinks back. He stares at Kuroko for a moment before saying quietly, "I'm sorry, Tet—_Kuroko_. I was an asshole. Just…can we try again? I want to make it up to you."

Kuroko doesn't answer, because it honestly feels like _nothing_ could _ever_ make it up to him because they _left_ him, and he had _trusted them_ not to leave him, not like his _parents_ who were _supposed_ to be there and never were, and they still _left him behind_, moving away so quickly that a tiny weakling like him had never had any chance of catching up. And yeah, he found something _better_, but that doesn't make what they did _alright_, just less of an ache is his chest. Not a hole, just an open wound. Aomine lets out a breath before speaking, and Kuroko can feel himself tense at the words.

"Okay, just…one chance. I know it's a lot to ask, because _god_, I _know_ I _don't deserve it_, but…please." Kuroko still doesn't answer, and Aomine ploughs forward. "Look, we—me, Kise, Midorima, Murasakibara, and Akashi—meet up every Saturday at that old street court by my house along with our teams. If you want to come, you're welcome to—you're _all _welcome to—just…give me a chance to make it up to you. I know I won't ever be able to make it better, but…_please_, just give me _one chance_. Let me prove that I've changed in three years."

And it's that last sentence that makes Kuroko freeze because _three years_? It's still their freshman year, right?! He turns, about to ask Aomine _"What do you mean by three years?!"_ when he realizes that Aomine's already stepped out the door, gonegone_gone_ and he's lost the chance to ask because—_whatonearth?! Three years?!_

Just what was going on?

(And then the Future Foundation approached them.)

(And they start to remember…it's not pretty, and Kuroko _hates_ himself.)

…

The next few weeks are busy, filled with paperwork and fighting and talking and interviews, and Kuroko absently notes that none of _them_ have even attempted to visit him after Aomine. He must have warned them off, which makes Kuroko both a little disappointed and a little more relaxed. Disappointed because he would have liked to deal them the same treatment that he dealt Aomine, relaxed because he just _didn't have any time right now to deal with this crap._

There was too much going on, and Kuroko can't even _think_ he's so busy.

So when the break finally comes, he's stunned, and can't think of anything stopping him. He looks at the calendar. Two weeks. Two weeks to do with as he chose, and god knew that they were going to be spending that time together because there were still _nightmares_, damnit!

And when he brings it up, hesitantly and carefully, Naegi just smiles at him, and Hagakure ruffles his hair with his massive, long fingered hands.

Because they didn't come _this_ far just to fall apart.

(And Kuroko finally lets himself be free, stops dancing around the adults' shackles and spreads his wings and _flies_.)

(Because _nothing_ was going to stop them now.)

(Not even assholes of former friends.)

**/End.\**

**Right. So, I finally got this done, and it looks almost like it's either going to be a threeshot or a drabble series because **_**wow this universe is so big and addictive to write**__. _**Because, I mean, just…so **_**much**_** to **_**do**_**! **

**Also, I hope Aomine was in character, because I don't have a lot of practice writing him. Also, Hagakure's hands? I mean, have you **_**seen**_** that scene in the anime where he's holding that crystal ball in the first episode? His hands are huge. And a piano player's **_**dream**_**. Do you know how far I could reach if I had his hands?! *****sobs* It's unfair!**

**Also, the explanation as to **_**how**_** Kuroko manages to put Aomine on the floor? Well, I always see Kuroko as being the quiet one who has more strength than he looks to have, so that's part of it. The other part is the fact that I have this headcannon for this 'verse where Oogami ends up teaching Kuroko some martial arts. Allow me my guilty pleasures!**

**Anyway, my b-day was Tuesday, which was, coincidentally, also my second anniversary on this site. Trippy, yo. (Sorry. I've been playing Crisis Core and have **_**just**_** seen Reno for the first time. It's getting to me.) Which is actually why I'm uploading this—a birthday present to myself!**

**So, I hope you all like this and review. (**_**Please**_** review. It always makes me **_**so**_** happy!)**

**~Happy**


	3. Chapter 3

**Universe(s) KnB and DR: KnGtZnK**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Heck, I don't even own the storyline!**

**Warnings: Vague ending, maybe/possible PTSD, mild language, mild/possible insanity, etc.**

**Kuroko no Hope and Despair: Part 3**

It hurts. It hurtshurts_hurts_, like someone has ripped a hole in his chest and is pouring acid into the raw, gaping wound. Kuroko stares at the group, playing basketball like it was no big deal, laughing and cheering and _so happy._ (_why were they happy? Couldn't they see the world crashing down around them?)_

The group, composed of players from Rakuzan, Shuutoku, Kaijou, Touou, and Seirin_, Kuroko's old school_, were so _happy_, and he can see Akashi's familiar head of ruby (_blood)_ colored hair alongside the ever-so-familiar hair colors of the rest of _them_, sans Murasakibara. It hurts, soso_so _much, and for a moment all he can see is the darkness of the abyss that had stared into his soul _before_ he woke up, the abyss that he had fallen so willingly into, that _they_ had fallen into—

—and then Asahina-san is there, her warm hand on his shoulder dragging him from the darkness, and he steels his will. This had been a long—_three years (and wasn't that horrifyingly incredible?)_—time coming, and he will have to face _them_ sooner or later. But…how can he? They had _ripped his heart out_, and he had been so broken and destroyed that for the longest time he hadn't thought anything short of _permanent measures_ would fix him.

(He's scared.)

(So very, very scared.)

…

Aomine is nervous. It had been three weeks since he had seen Tet—_Kuroko_, and he had been keyed up ever since. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and his eyes narrow as he darts past Kagami to dunk the ball into the net.

He's an idiot, yeah, but he can't think of anything better to do with his nerves (_anxiety_) than to push Kagami into playing harder, faster—anything to take his mind off of the impending possible doomsday confrontation with Kuroko.

It's only as their game of streetball ends that he realizes that he may have taken it too far; he and Kagami are strong, and have plenty of stamina and can keep up with each other when they decide to push each other to the very edge and further. The rest of them? Not so much.

Aomine turns and winces at Akashi's disapproving expression. Even in their first year, before Akashi had gotten so very harsh and _dangerous_, to cross Akashi wasn't something one did and expect to come out of it unharmed.

And then when third year had rolled around—_no._ He is _so_ not thinking of that crap.

He glances over at Kagami, who is being scolded by that girl-coach who is now in _college_, of all things, and wipes his forehead free of sweat. Kise laughs as he winds around Aomine sinuously, still fresh as a daisy.  
>"Haha, Aominecchi is really excited today, huh?" Aomine shrugs him off, blue eyes sparking with an almost playful irritation.<p>

"Shut up, Kise," he growls.

"Mou, Aominecchi~! So mean!" Kise whines. The blond's gaze turns sly as he grins at Aomine. "It's no surprise Aominecchi doesn't have a girlfriend with that attitude~" Aomine swats at Kise, but the blond dances out of reach, laughing.

"Ne, ne, Aominecchi! One-on-one?" the blond asks, eyes lighting with excitement.

"No."

"Mou, Aominecchi is really—" the blond stops abruptly, eyes widening as he stares at something over Aomine's shoulder, and Aomine scowls at him.

"What?" he snaps, impatience snapping sharply within him, but the blond pays him no attention. His eyes are almost _wondering_, and Aomine turns, something in him _hoping,_ just _hoping beyond all hope_—

—and he's standing there, all silent and quiet and _visible_, of all things, baby blue eyes staring at them.

(Aomine's terrified.)

(What if they can't fix what they did?)

…

Kuroko feels his breath catch in his chest as he stares at all of them. There's no going back now. No stopping. _(But when was stopping ever an option for them?)_

Their eyes are all on him, ignoring the others all standing distances away, watching carefully. His gaze flits over the group from Seirin. Were they the ones he might have played with had he continued playing basketball? No matter—he hasn't played basketball for a very long time, has left it behind him with everything else as he stepped forward into that abyss; even now, as he turns and faces the light, he refuses to look back at the past that is now a hazy twilight to him.

Kise is the first one to speak, and Kuroko's gaze flicks to him, analyzing his former teammate. Kise's amber eyes are wide and filled with…_something_ as he steps forward, hesitant but oh-so-_hopeful_.

"Ku…Kurokocchi?"

(And suddenly all he can feel is all encompassing _rage_.)

(What _right_ did Kise have to call him that?!)

…

The world is very suddenly clear in Kuroko's eyes as he steps forward, and with a movement that has Aomine wincing from remembered pain, decks Kise.

The blond tumbles back, limbs flailing as he crashes to the ground roughly. Kuroko looks at his hand, at Kise, and then back at his hand before shaking it loosely. Just like inflicting that _pain_ upon Aomine had been _extremely satisfying_, this had filled him with a sense of vindication.

He glares down at the blond, blue eyes furious.

"You have _no idea_ how _good_ that felt."

(And then he's left feeling so very _tired_.)

(Empty.)

…

Kise stares up at the furious baby blue eyes of his former mentor form where he lays, hurt battling with resigned acknowledgement.

The acknowledgement wins out—he deserved that. He had been a _horrible, horrible_ friend; a bastard, really. Not only that, but he had abandoned his teacher, his _mentor_ when he quite possibly needed him most.

Kise lets his gaze fall away from the phantom's cold gaze, knowing that whatever he dished out, he deserved more than anything else.

(What sort of _scum_ abandoned their friends when they really needed them?)

(Apparently him and the rest of the Kiseki no Sedai.)

…

Akashi speaks lowly in the silence that follows Kuroko's unexpected act of violence.

"Tetsuya." He looks up, both eyes pure red. "I am glad that you are alive."

Kuroko's cold eyes flick over, and in a rare moment of pure _sass_ that has Aomine choking in disbelief and painpain_pain_, snaps "No thanks to you, Akashi."

Midorima stops where he stands, frozen in disbelief at the idea of Kuroko being _sassy_. And Aomine can't blame him—he (and the rest of the Kiseki no Sedai, most likely) had built up a picture of Kuroko being this saintly figure, able to put up with them at their worst until it finally became too much. For Kuroko to be _sassing_ was like—the end of the world come upon them. It just_ didn't happen_.

And then, of course, Kagami has to prove why he's known as _Bakagami_.

"Who the hell is this?"

(What can they say?)

(There's not much _to_ say.)

…

Kuroko is angry. No, not _angry_. He's not quite sure what to call it, but that _hatehatehate_ is burning in his throat, scalding him like acid.

He wants them to _hurt_, wants them to _feel_ the _pain_ that _he had,_ wants them to see how _they_ liked the feeling of their _hearts being ripped out_—!

But he takes a deep breath—hadn't it been that mentality that had led him to follow Enoshima, that dragged him onto this bloody path?

He won't—_can't_—kill again. He won't allow his ledger to swim in an even deeper sea of innocent blood.

(_No matter_ how _satisfying_ it would be.)

(For a moment he sees _blood and death_ and hears _screams and begs _and_ pleas_ and _laughter_—)

…

It is, once again, Akashi who speaks.

"This is Kuroko Tetsuya," he explains quietly. "The Phantom Sixth Man of the Kiseki no Sedai."

(And suddenly everything is just _too much_ and he can't—)

(He _runs.)_

…

He is a fool. An absolute, utter _fool_. He hides, shaking as he tries to reign in his trembling. It's nonsensical—why had he run?—but try as he might to explain it, he _can't._ He just _couldn't be there anymore._

It is his breathing that gives him away to his pursuers, and he's shaking to much and can't think, can't _breathe_ and there's just toomuch_too_muchtoo_muchtoo much_—

He had been foolish to think that this was something that could maybe fix things; the hole in his chest _throbs_ and _aches_ and he giggles hysterically.

He's such _an idiot_.

(It's suffocating, and he's drowning in everything around him, but still…)

(_Maybe it can be fixed._)

…

They don't say any words, completely silent as they stand there. They're strangers—how strange, since they were once _friends—_and it will take _time_. So much _time_.

Class 78 is only just _beginning_ to come to terms with what _three years_ meant and just _what they had done_.

They were broken.

But…that's all right.

As he stares at them, he sees strangers wearing the faces of people he had _loved_, and then _hated_, and now…he just feels numb. Empty and hollow, like a toy used and thrown away.

They had moved on with their lives, moving forward into the bright future that awaited them, leaving him _behind_ in the darkness that he had willingly fallen into.

But now…they're all moving on. They can all move forward—perhaps not as friends, not yet, but…maybe as strangers.

Maybe-friends.

_They_ had changed so much, and he could see it; they weren't the same people he had known three years ago.

But then again, he wasn't the same person _they_ had known. They were different, like new people.

And _maybe_, _just maybe_, his fractured soul can be glued together. It would take time…but it might be _possible_.

And since when did Class 78, students of Hope, prisoners of Despair, quail from danger? _(A lot, but they're not about to say that.)_

And now…maybe there can be _peace_, and maybe they can move forward into that bright future that's ready to greet them.

(It doesn't last.)

(But that's okay; they have each other.)

(And suddenly…_it's enough._)

**/The End.\**

**So…yeah. That happened. Sorry about the vague ending—I'm not good at writing conflict, and it just sort of ended up being vague and maybe-feels-y. -_-'**

**Sorry.**

**I think this is the end of this one, though. It…**_**feels **_**ended. Like a 'The End' to a good story. Don't worry, though—I am likely to post more of this universe, but it will likely be under a separate story, as this, I think, will remain the main storyline. Horrible of me, I know. **

**Also, a quick note on **_**why**_** this story has taken me so long to update each time, and will likely continue to do so for any drabbles I may write about it in future:**

**This story is one that is completely driven by inspiration. If I'm not feeling any inspiration, then I don't write it. But when I do write it, I get it done in one sitting and post it. I don't do any editing, save for a brief spellcheck to make sure I haven't misspelled anything.**

**The second part about it is that **_**because**_** this story is so driven by inspiration, when I write it, I exhaust myself mentally and emotionally, since I place myself into the shoes of the characters, **_**feel**_** their emotions, and then write out the words that come out while trying to get them to be somewhat sensical. I probably fail at that pretty often, too. **

**Please do review, it makes me extremely happy when you do! And tell me what you think happened with the vague ending…I want to see what you guys think!**

**~Happy Camper27**


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